P.S. Gerard Butler Loves You

Super hot Gerard Butler, that ultra buff, gorgeous and kinda scary Spartan dude from 300 and spooky masked marvel from The Phantom of the Opera is really quite warm and friendly in person. We were delighted to sit down briefly with the tall, blue-eyed hunk-o-man in Beverly Hills recently to get a glimpse of Butler's warm and fuzzy romantic side. The actor plays Hilary Swank's hot hubby in the new romantic dramady P.S. I Love You.

We're a sucker for a smooth Scottish accent and between interviewing James McAvoy and now Gerard this month, we're in hottie heaven. The imposing Butler arrived wearing a light gray jacket over a black shirt and slacks. Butler likes to use his hands a lot while talking. He's got a tan and is sporting the beginnings of a beard for his currently-shooting thriller Game. You can also catch him next year in the crime comedy RocknRolla and the fantasy adventure Nim's Island. I first said 'Who IS that guy?!' when I saw him in Timeline, Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life and the dragon-flick Reign of Fire. Now everybody knows Gerry, as his friends call him. Sit back, start reading and you will know him better too...

TeenHollywood: You have a very long opening "battle" sequence in P.S. I Love You with Hilary. What was more challenging; sparring with her or fighting in 300?
The always handsome Gerard Butler
Credit: Warner Bros.

Gerard: [laughs] Well, there were less troops to rally, although sometimes I think rallying myself is more difficult than rallying other people. That scene's a real mixture because on the one hand we had great chemistry together, and a lot of things fell into place immediately, I was amazed how we played off each other, but on the other side of that, this has got to be one of the longest opening scenes in a modern movie. It's like 15 minutes long, and to try and keep that going and justify that length of scene, because your average scene is two minutes maybe, this was ridiculous. To keep it natural and keep that spark and that chemistry that we had alive and fresh, that was a challenge.

TeenHollywood: It was so important that you and Hilary Swank had some chemistry in this. What did you do at the beginning when you met to get some sparks going? Did you have any rehearsals at all?

Gerard: Yeah we had rehearsal and we hung out. I actually don't think though that it was something we really had to work at. We have a great spark together. She's a pretty amazing actress, so I felt we actually had it, or maybe she had to play it a little bit, I don't know. I feel that we have great chemistry. I know for me, before I went in, I made a decision that I was going to get out of that 'leading man' head you get into. I'm not a diva in any way. I think I'm very down to earth, but when you're playing the title role in a film or the lead and it is a huge role, you can't help but get caught up in your own head. I thought, 'I'm going to try the opposite,' which was throw my focus completely onto Hilary and [director/writer] Richard [LaGravenese], and I really tried that, and I had so much fun doing the movie, taking all the pressure off myself, and I felt no pressure in my performance. I felt so relaxed and at ease, and I know that just opened up more of a trust in Hilary as well.

TeenHollywood: It looked like you two were having fun.

Gerard: [beaming] Yeah, that's exactly it! I knew that she wasn't out to get me, I wasn't out to get her, we were just having fun and making something that we both loved.

TeenHollywood: We know you sing, but you had to also play guitar for this. Did you actually fall asleep standing in front of a mirror while practicing?

Gerard: [laughs] I did, I did. I'm obsessive, right, and I'm not a guitar player so me trying to learn to play the guitar and sing a song and then act in any way, I could never do all three. I could either do this and move around where they told me to but not get the words right, or I could sing the words and move but then the notes would be a mess. I could never quite get all three. And I practiced and practiced and practiced, and the fellow who was teaching me kept saying, 'Just make it simple, just go with two or three notes,' but I wanted to get every note in the song. And I just wouldn't give it up, and I would just play all the time. I do remember standing in front of the mirror one night, and I was just like [feigns falling asleep] and I found myself collapsing, and I did it like three times, I'm like [sleeps], and then I thought I should go to bed. And I still f**ked it up.

TeenHollywood: Sounded good to us. This has been a pretty good year for you. Was there an all-time high moment you remember?

Gerard: I would say number one would probably be the night that 300 opened and we kind of jumped from cinema to cinema, agents and the producers and all the people from the film, jumping into the back of every cinema to see how busy they were, and to see the lines, and suddenly everyone I'd ever met was calling, 'We can't even get in to see this d**n movie,' and they were getting these emails that [audiences were] literally going 10 million, 15 million, 18 million, 19 million, the next day [up to 70] and for it to keep going like that is something that I'd never experienced, especially since this isn't a franchise. It wasn't a 'Superman' or a 'Pirates', and also it was a film that I was in, this just doesn't happen [he laughs]. So that was a highlight of my career.

TeenHollywood: We hear that you might be part of 300 director Zack Snyder's new film Watchmen, playing The Pirate, true?

Gerard: I don't know. Zack's crazy, so am I. It was his genius that made 300 what it was and it was a great marriage between the two of us. I was in a great position where I'd love to have jumped into the Watchmen and done something but I'd plenty to be doing on my own as well. I keep hearing rumors 'Zack's going to give you a call' but I don't know.

TeenHollywood: It's great that you are doing bigger projects. Will you ever go back to the smaller, indie films again?

Gerard: Absolutely, I mean, I hope so. Nim's Island, it's a bigger budget, but, in some ways it's a children's film. It's a lot of fun and it's beautiful. On this film, if I read this script and the budget had been [lower] I'd still have done it, because I go by the script and the character, and you have your paydays and then you have your ones that aren't paydays so I would absolutely go back [to smaller movies]. It's as much to keep myself interested and to keep trying new things all the time.

TeenHollywood: Which do you prefer; the action or the romantic comedy?

Gerard: There's things I prefer about both. Normally when I'm doing action I think I prefer comedy, and when I'm doing comedy I think I prefer action. I'm doing an action movie right now, Game, and you don't get much more fun than the action in that because it's all encompassing; explosions, gunfire, and the plot sets it up perfectly. I definitely don't want to do that kind of stuff forever, and yet I'm having the best time on it but you miss the chance to sit down and do scenes where you're just having a regular conversation or you're getting the chance to be funny. I wouldn't want to work every day of my life, I want to have some leisure time, I want to have some sexy time. You want to be able to experience all the parts of your psyche and all the parts of humanity and life, and it's like that in films, I want to be able to do all the different areas.